Abandon Her Faith
by 10MidnightArrow11
Summary: With a blue feather in her hands Alisa must decide between love and the life she has always known.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm not sure if anyone reads these things any more, or if anyone cares about Sunshine Island characters. But I wrote this and I figured I might as well post it. SI is my all time favorite game. I always thought it was so cool that SI allowed you to court Alisa but never marry her. It's a built in tragedy! I decided to elaborate on her heart events, kinda look into why she might entertain the idea of romance and ultimately devote herself to the Goddess. I used some quotes from the game, obviously all rights to Natsume and all that. Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or criticisms. Mark can be kind of bland so I'm not sure how I'll adapt his character. I think the next chapter will follow him. **

Alisa gripped the pew in front of her and leaned forward, sighing. She had been staring into the eyes of the Harvest Goddess statue for the last few minutes. Even made of glittering crystal they seemed lifeless. Alisa had been staring into the eyes of statues all her life, waiting patiently for some divine spark, or wink, or something. Today her patience was wearing thin.

The devotee slipped out of the pews. Wasn't she chaste enough? Wasn't she generous enough? Meek enough? Hadn't she given her youth to the Goddess? Years of studying behind stained glass, while her peers fished in the chapel pond, rough housed over post-service refreshments, and flirted during Father Nathan's sermons. Alisa reached her hand towards the Goddess. It was a challenge. If the statue really was just cold stone Alisa would march out of her church. Alisa told herself this every time. The statue never transformed. A voice never rang out from the heavens. It was always stone. It was always cold. There must be another way. This time Alisa would follow through.

Alisa's hand hovered near the Goddess's cheek. She heard the chapel door swing open. It was probably Father Nathan. He would probably scold her for her impatience. The Goddess would reveal herself when she saw fit. Alisa's hand dropped to her side. She plastered on a smile and the nun spun around. The plaster melted away as recognition lit up Alisa's face. Mark tugged off his cap. He chuckled as he used the back of his sleeve to wipe sweat off his brow. He always seemed to be in the middle of some great, laborious, adventure. It amazed and astounded her how hard he worked. All that energy, it sort of took her breath away.

"Hello Mark. I'm happy to see you here!"

"Any word from our lady and savior?"

"Oh. kindness, good fortune, and plant plenty of potatoes." Alisa joked, "I hope you've been keeping up on your scriptures."

"Always do." Mark sauntered up the aisle. He rested his hands on his hips and took in the Goddess Statue. "Fine piece of work, Lis."

"I was just looking at the statue of the Harvest Goddess." Alisa turned back around slowly, blushing at her earlier doubts. "Don't you think she's wonderful, Mark."

"Sure do."

"Yes, yes. That's..." Alisa thought about how enchanting she had found the statue as a child. She would sit at the Goddess feet all day. "That's amazing."

"Don't think I would have made it this far without her." Mark sounded so calm and self assured. His straightforward faith enchanted her. The Goddess was the Goddess. She provided crops, these bountiful islands, and all the people of them. That's just the way it was. It reminded her of why she had taken her vows.

"I'm happy she has touched your life as well." Alisa tried to sound happy for him. "Nathan saw her once. You do so much for our islands, maybe...Well, I hope you'll see her too."

A silence fell on the chapel. It was so different from the silence of a congregation at prayer. Alisa was lost in thought, she hardly heard Mark when he spoke.

"You're pretty wonderful yourself."

"What?"

"You're wonderful too, Alisa"

Alisa was shocked. No one said things like that to her. "Pardon me, I'm a bit flustered. Thank you, of course."

"Sure. The chapel wouldn't run without you, keeping it neat, greeting the members, looking after ol'Nathan." Mark moved his hat between hands as he spoke. He smiled and glanced at Alisa.

Alisa blushes, "Well, I owe the church everything. I was raised in the church. I wouldn't hardly be much without it. Seems like a small price to pay for such a meaningful life." She paused. She wanted to say more. To talk about how her parents had died. She wanted to tell him that she hardly spoke to anyone her own age, that she lived her whole life devoted to a statue and she wasn't even sure what it meant any more. Every worry played on the edges of her lips and died on her tongue. She wanted to be comforted by his steady voice. But to release these worries would be heresy to her path. Besides it was only a moment of doubt. It would pass and she would believe again as she always had. "Thank you for talking to me, I rarely see anyone our age these days."

"Well I'm not out the door yet. What's on your mind?"

"Hmm? Oh, the Goddess mostly, as usual." Alisa looked down at her feet.

"What brought you to the church any how?"

Alisa feigned a chuckle. "You never heard? Gossip is a sin our islands never runs short on."

"I'd rather hear it from you."

"My parents passed away in the earthquake that sunk our islands. Father Nathan found me in the wreck. I probably wouldn't have survived if it weren't for him...and the Goddess of course." Alisa tensed. Mark stayed silent. "I'm not very good at telling stories. I'm sorry. I-I rarely tell them."

Mark touched Alisa's shoulder. "No, I'm just sorry. I never know what to say in situations like this, Lis." Alisa couldn't hear a word he said. Her head had been buzzing since Mark's hand made contact. She wanted to run but a small part of her screamed to move in closer. Alisa stepped away, avoiding eye contact.

"Thank you for coming by, and, um, listening to me ramble. It's nice to be able to talk to someone other than Nathan, not that Nathan isn't great company, but-but-"

"Any time!" Mark swung back on his cap. "I better be going, though. Lot of work to do before sundown."

Alisa shouted after Mark as he strolled out of the church, "You should come again sometime! If you're not too busy. You probably have a lot of crops to tend to, and the animals, and lots of errands, but-but, I really do enjoy your company! So!"

"Any time." The door slammed behind him.

**A/N: Well, there's the first chapter. Please, please, please let me know what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

Mark had been talking to Alisa for too long. It seemed like every set of eyes at the festival was glued to his back. Even his chicken was getting anxious, running around and pecking at their feet. It wasn't like Alisa was a pyria. People talked to her. But they didn't lean in when she spoke, or make her bend over in laughter, or smirk when she blushed. Mark did. He probably should have politely dipped away to engage the giggling circle of bachelorettes on the other side of the fairground. He probably should have brought a better chicken. But Mark liked a challenge.

"You ever take to pets, Lis?"

Alisa kneeled down to pet Mark's chicken. "I love all kinds of critters. But, Nathan doesn't believe we should have animals running around the church." She glanced up at him, frowning. The chicken calmed at her touch. Alisa's frown transformed into a smile as the chicken nuzzled her palm. "I get to feed the pond fish though! And all the bunnies on my island."

Alisa looked around the fairground in wonder. Her eyes were big, even when she smiled. But Mark liked the way they squinted against the sun. She sure had a nice smile.

"It's amazing to get out and see all these well trained farm animals. I never thought a chicken could be so cute," Alisa mused.

"You can come up to the farm any time if you want."

It shouldn't have felt like a transgression, he asked villagers over all the time, but it did. He had meant the invitation in an entirely innocent way, but if felt like a taboo had slipped from his lips. Alisa certainly acted like he had. Her eyes trailed across the ground. Mark felt like he needed to justify his offer.

"I've got the best trained chickens in the county. Just watch me take home the gold today!" Mark chuckled nervously.

He didn't take home the gold. Of course he didn't. He brought his second weakest chicken. He should have brought the chicken's mother. She would have been a landslide win. Mark went over the loss again and again on his way home. He would coach this weak chicken until it could place first in its sleep.

Mark placed the chicken in its coop, patted its head.

"Well lesson one: I better give you a name." He thought about Alisa. He should have asked her earlier. What would she have named the chicken? Goddess, he really embarrassed himself today.

"I'll call you Berry. And you're a she from now on, no more 'it' stuff, okay girl? I promise." Mark pulled a treat out of his pocket and tossed it to Berry. He sighed. It was supposed to rain tomorrow. Maybe he'd dawdle a bit after service and smooth things over. He'd make sure Alisa knew he wasn't flirting. Or had he been? Everything just seemed to fall out of his mouth when he was around her. It felt right, but with all those eyes on him, he knew it was wrong. There had certainly been a rush. Was he doing it for the attention? He always bit off more than he could chew. The glares almost motivated him.

"What do you think, girl?" Berry squaked. "Yeah...I've got to get myself in line."

A month later Mark and Alisa were back at the fairgrounds, this time for a picnic. It seemed like Mark had had the same conversation with himself every night sincethe contest, but yet he was still here. Still sitting across from Alisa, making her laugh and blush. It was despicable.

"So you really mean you've spoken to sprites?" Alisa sounded dubious.

"You're the nun, Lis."

"I've never seen a sprite."

"Maybe you're not quite as godly as I am." Mark joked.

"I've seen drawings. And it's in the scriptures of course...but real, live, tiny people?"

"About as tall as my boot."

"My! You sure are lucky." Alisa frowned.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

Mark stuffed half a sandwich in his mouth before he spoke. "S-oun-md S-ma-d."

"Sound sad?" Alisa sighed. She rolled bread into a tiny ball between her fingers. "I don't know. I've...never really seen anything. I want to...I know they exist. Or at least I think they do...I believe you and Nathan, anyway."

"Well you see me, don't you?" Alisa nodded. Mark grinned. His hand rested on the grass, inches from her thigh. It felt like electricity radiated between them. He needed to move his hand. Mark plucked an apple from the basket and tossed it up and down. He was always full of nervous energy. But he wanted to seem calm for her. "Good, I was worried about your eyesight." Alisa laughed. Church bells couldn't compare to a laugh like that.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"You see me. I see you. There's gotta be something to that."

"You see everything so clearly."

"Nah, my eyes are as good as yours."

**A/N: Alright, here's chapter two! Let me know what you think.**


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